Although the area has been populated at least since the early Middle Ages, it was not until early 1916 when Mokotów was incorporated into Warsaw. The name of the area, first appearing as the village of Mokotowo in documents from the year 1367, has unclear origins. It is hypothesised to have come from the name of a Prussian owner of the village, who called himself Mokoto or Mokot, however no exact reference to such an individual can be found in the historical records. Most of the area was urbanized in the late 1920s and 1930s. The area survived World War II and the events of the Warsaw Uprising quite well and is one of the few well-preserved areas of Warsaw nowadays. Mokotów Prison is located within the borough.